Cranberry Sangria
When you need an easy, festive holiday cocktail, this Cranberry Sangria hits all the marks! It’s packed with fruity red wine, fresh apples and cranberries, and the warm flavor of cinnamon. It can be made entirely in advance so it’s perfect for entertaining!
I’m a huge fan of red wine, but when I’m feeling fancy, it doesn’t get better than a fruity, refreshing sangria.
This Cranberry Sangria is a delicious holiday spin on the classic. It includes fruity red wine, fresh cranberries, apples and orange, and the warm flavor of cinnamon sticks for amazing depth of flavor.
It’s as easy as it is festive as well! The fruit takes minutes to prep, then all of the ingredients are combined in a pitcher and stored in the refrigerator for 4 hours until it’s time to enjoy it.
This recipe makes it easy for you to make a crowd pleasing holiday cocktail and have plenty of time to enjoy the party as well. 🙂
If you love cranberries, be sure to see my collection of 35 fresh cranberry recipes!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Cranberry Sangria is fruity, refreshing and packed with the flavors of the season.
- It takes 10 minutes to prep and it can be made entirely in advance. It’s perfect for holiday entertaining!
- It can be customized a number of ways based on your favorite fruits, juices and what you have on hand.
Recipe ingredients
There are a few ingredients in this cranberry sangria recipe, and the glory of sangria is that you can easily customize it with what you have on hand!
- Red wine. Use a dry, fruity red wine such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, Tempranillo or Malbec. While you shouldn’t choose the most expensive bottle as it will be combined with other ingredients, it should be drinkable quality.
- Fruits. I chose a combination of apples, cranberries, and oranges, but persimmon, pear and pomegrante would be great options as well. The fresh cranberries don’t lend a ton of flavor, they are mainly for garnish.
- Brandy. Brandy is a classic addition to sangria. If you’re looking for a substitute, I would suggest Cointreu or Grand Marnier.
- Cranberry juice. The cranberry juice is where this sangria gets its cranberry flavor. The amount of sugar in your cranberry juice (and how much you use) will dictate how much sweetener you’ll need. Pomegranate juice would be a great substitute.
- Sugar. Add granulated sugar, maple syrup or honey to sweeten your sangria further to suit your taste.
- Cinnamon sticks. The cinnamon sticks add warm depth of flavor that pairs very well with the autumn fruits.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to make this recipe
This cranberry sangria recipe is extremely easy to make. Simply prep the fruit and pop everything
Pro tip: Use a dry, fruity red wine such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, Tempranillo or Malbec. While you shouldn’t choose the most expensive bottle as it will be combined with other ingredients, it should be drinkable quality.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Slice the apples and (1) of the oranges. Place in a large pitcher and muddle the fruit. Note that I did not muddle the fresh cranberries as they’re quite tart.
- Juice the remaining orange and place the juice in the pitcher, along with the cranberries, cranberry juice, brandy, granulated sugar, cinnamon sticks and red wine, and stir until well combined.
- Store in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours and up to a few days. The longer the flavors in your cranberry sangria meld together, the better it will taste.
FAQs
Dry, fruity red wines such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, Tempranillo or Malbec would work perfectly in this Cranberry Sangria recipe.
Bear in mind that whatever type of wine you choose, it should be of drinkable quality. You shouldn’t use an expensive bottle as it will get lost in the other ingredients, but it should be a bottle of wine that you enjoy drinking.
Sangria typically includes brandy, but if you don’t have any on hand, it can be substituted with triple sec, Cointreu or Grand Marnier.
This cranberry sangria can last up to one week covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Use a dry, fruity red wine such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, Tempranillo or Malbec. While you shouldn’t choose the most expensive bottle as it will be combined with other ingredients, it should be drinkable quality.
- The cranberry juice that I used was 100% from concentrate and only contained 7 grams of sugar per serving. Check the label for the sugar content of your cranberry juice — if it’s higher you may not need to add any additional sugar depending on how sweet you prefer your sangria to be.
- This sangria may be made a few days in advance — the longer it sits the better it is!
- Make this a sparkling cranberry sangria by topping it off with sparkling water when ready to serve.
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Cranberry Sangria
Ingredients
- 2 large oranges divided
- 1 apple plus apple slices for serving if desired
- 1 cup fresh cranberries plus more for serving
- 1 cup cranberry juice I used 100% from concentrate which was low in sugar
- 1/4 cup brandy sub with Cointreau or Grand Marnier
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar sub with maple syrup or honey if desired
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bottle red wine see notes
Instructions
- Slice the apple and one of the oranges, then place in the bottom of a large pitcher and muddle well.
- Juice the remaining orange, which will yield about 1/2 cup of juice, and add to the pitcher along with the fresh cranberries, cointreau or brandy, granulated sugar, cinnamon sticks and wine. Stir well and cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. The longer the flavors meld together, the better the sangria will taste.
- Before serving, stir well and taste. Add more sugar if necessary and stir until the sugar has just about dissolved.
- Serve with additional orange and apple slices, fresh cranberries and cinnamon sticks if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Pro tip: Use a dry, fruity red wine such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, Tempranillo or Malbec. While you shouldn’t choose the most expensive bottle as it will be combined with other ingredients, it should be drinkable quality.
- The cranberry juice that I used was 100% from concentrate and only contained 7 grams of sugar per serving. Check the label for the sugar content of your cranberry juice — if it’s higher you may not need to add any additional sugar depending on how sweet you prefer your sangria to be.
- This sangria may be made a few days in advance — the longer it sits the better it is!
- Make this a sparkling cranberry sangria by topping it off with sparkling water when ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
**This post was originally published in November 2018. Process shots have been added and the text has been restructured for better readability.
8 Comments on “Cranberry Sangria”
Can you use triple sec in place of the Brandy or cointreau?
Hi Angel — triple sec and cointreau are very similar so I think that would be a good substitute. 🙂
Sangria is one of my favourite cocktails, and I love that you added my favourite seasonal fruit. The cranberries are definitely a nice pairing. We normally make a pitcher or two of sangria to serve guests over the holidays, so I’ll definitely be pinning your recipe to make in a few weeks!
Sangria is such a great cocktail for entertaining isn’t it? Thanks Leanne!
I’m normally way behind on the Christmas spirit too, Marcie, but this year I’ve managed to get it together as well! High five to us!!! 😉 Okay, now can I just say it’s only noon here but that isn’t stopping me from wanting an entire pitcher of this sangria?!?!?! This is so festive and just perfect for holiday parties!!! I love that touch of warm cinnamon you added too! Pinned! Cheers!!
High five Chey! It’s nice to be in the spirit and top of things isn’t it? Thanks so much!
Such a festive drink for the holidays!! And so pretty too! I’m feeling pretty good about christmas this year – I’m actually finished shopping so now I feel like I can just enjoy everything the season has to offer!
Thank you Ashley! That’s so nice that you’re done shopping and can relax and enjoy!